A GOP aide familiar with the conversation tells the Associated Press Trump told the lawmakers the party would have a steep price to pay in next year's midterm elections if they failed to pass his plan. It would slash the corporate tax rate to 20 percent and double the standard deduction used by most average Americans.

The president also said that, beyond the looming elections, his plan was the right thing to do for the country, the person said.

In a conference call, Trump urged members to adopt the budget passed by the Senate this week and move on to tax reform.

___

5:24 p.m.

President Donald Trump has urged House Republicans to move swiftly on passing the budget during a conference call, clearing the way for what he called an historic step on taxes.

Trump and Vice President Mike Pence joined a Sunday afternoon House Republicans call in which Trump urged members to adopt the budget passed by the Senate last week and move on to tax reform.

Trump told the members they were on the verge of doing something historic. That's according to a Republican official on the call. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss what was intended to be a private call for members.

House Speaker Paul Ryan also said on the call that he hopes to pass a revised Senate bill this week so that tax reform can be enacted by the end of the year.

A proposal by two senators - Republican Lamar Alexander and Democrat Patty Murray - would extend to insurers federal payments that Trump has blocked. Trump has offered mixed signals about whether he supports the deal.

He adds: "I think he hasn't made a final decision. When he does, and I know we're not just debating it, but actually passing something to be signed, I'd be happy to bring it up."

Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., takes the escalator down as he returns to his office after appearing on the Senate floor with Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., to defend their bipartisan proposal for resuming federal subsidies to health insurers that President Donald Trump has blocked, at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, Oct. 19, 2017. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)